Leave No Page Unturned
by Faye-Naruse
Summary: In their second year of high school, the Minimum boys are placed in different classes. Hiroki cares too much and Akihiko just doesn't seem to care at all. HS!Minimum. T for light cursing.


Leave No Page Unturned

A low, excited hum spread through the crowd of teenagers as, one by one, they discovered who their classmates would be for the next school year.

"_Ha!_ There I am!" Hiroki called, pointing at his name. "I'm in Class 2-3. What about you?" He turned to Akihiko, who frowned.

"I can't find mine…"

"Tch, you're slow! What's your number again?" Hiroki asked.

Akihiko stared harder, his brow furrowing. "Ah…"

"Well?!"

"It appears that –"

"Uh huh…"

"I'm in Class 2-1."

Hiroki let out the breath he had unconsciously been holding in a disappointed whoosh.

How… _lame_.

A few seconds ticked by, and his chest began to hurt. Had he really wanted them to be in the same class that much? When Hiroki looked up to see Akihiko's reaction, he only felt more pathetic.

Akihiko simply looked bored. In fact, he was staring at a boy in glasses to their left, who was gazing eagerly up at the board, though Akihiko's eyes fell back to Hiroki not a second later.

"Sorry, Hiroki," he said. Apparently, Hiroki wasn't doing a very good job of hiding his dismay. "It's not like we can't still walk to and from school together and hang out after school."

Hiroki bristled at Akihiko's indifferent tone. He clenched his jaw. Akihiko might sound like he was trying to cheer him up, but did he really, actually – "do you even care?" he spat out, shooting the other boy a sharp glare.

Hiroki turned away before he could see Akihiko's reaction. He was pissed off, at Akihiko for caring so little, at himself for getting so angry over something that wasn't even that big of a deal while knowing full well that this was how Akihiko was. His cheeks burned as he felt Akihiko's eyes on him. He hated letting Akihiko see him like this. He was lashing out like a hurt grade-schooler, for god's sake.

"Hiroki…"

The boy in question remained silent, eyes on the ground.

"Hiroki."

"…what?"

Akihiko disappeared from his side. After a few moments, Hiroki couldn't help himself. He looked up. His heart skipped a beat when he found Akihiko right in front of him, reaching towards him.

"Aki—" Hiroki's words died in his throat.

Akihiko was hugging him. _His_ Akihiko. The Akihiko he'd been pining over for… much, _much_ too long.

He almost forgot to breathe.

Hiroki waited for an explanation, but Akihiko's arms were still wrapped tightly around his waist. Any coherent thought seemed to escape Hiroki as his senses were overtaken with Akihiko.

Akihiko breathed softly against his ear, smelling oddly like the crisp, unturned pages of a pristine book. Had he been writing a new story before they met up?

Slowly, limb by limb, Hiroki managed to relax his body and sink into Akihiko's warm grip. His brain was telling him to run away, that he was only teasing himself, that Akihiko was somehow knowingly taking advantage of his feelings for him to distract Hiroki from the matter at hand, but… it just felt so good to touch Akihiko. Not only as the boy he was in love with, but as a friend too. When had they last touched like this? Hell, when had he last felt such blunt affection from someone outside his family?

Maybe he was thinking too much about it. Maybe he was imagining the whole thing. Either way, his heart swelled with warmth. And, oh _dammit_, he was tearing up.

"Hiroki, you are my most precious friend," Akihiko said suddenly, sternly. "Don't forget that." He pulled away, squeezing Hiroki's shoulders – in assurance, hope? – before letting go. "Come on," he said, brushing past Hiroki as he moved forward.

Still a bit dazed, Hiroki felt his body slacken. He made sure to wipe away the excess moisture in his eyes before facing Akihiko again. But Akihiko was not looking in his direction.

Cherry blossoms swirled about their feet as the wind blew, and the scent from earlier hit Hiroki again. The scent of ink binding to paper.

He watched Akihiko's retreating back. No, he should… stop him. Tell him to wait. Reach for him, quickly! Don't go, don't go—

Hiroki felt as though his feet were glued to the ground. It was sudden, so very sudden, but he couldn't shake the premonition that…This was it, wasn't it? The beginning of the end of a relationship that could have been. Or could it have? He would never know. Because Akihiko's back was retreating, like the smell of a new book when it's slammed closed, too fast for Hiroki to reach him again.

A new school year was ahead of them, separated for what could be the most impactful year of their lives yet. And there was bound to be someone, someone to see what Hiroki saw in Akihiko, loved about Akihiko. Or Akihiko himself would find someone, someone that meant to him what Akihiko meant to Hiroki. Who could know? Who could ever fucking know?

It was only a matter of time, Hiroki knew that, but it didn't hurt any less to realize he had run out of time, to realize their pages would remain unturned. Because, it was just a feeling, a strong one but –

This – this feeling – was him losing Akihiko's heart, in the way he wanted it, forever.

And he didn't even know to what, yet.

…Not that it would ever stop him from hoping.

Hoping and _praying_.


End file.
